Let’s face it, recreational utility vehicles are becoming hard to ignore. The Rhino craze of the last five years has created an entire new industry segment that continues to see tremendous growth. Arctic Cat released its Prowler and Polaris debuted the revolutionary RZR last year. Now, Kawasaki enters the game with its Teryx RUV.
At the end of January, Kawasaki invited us to test its all-new Teryx 750 4x4 at Sand Hollow Recreational Park outside St. George, Utah — a place befitting exactly how we like to ride these machines. There was desert, dune, rock crawls and wide-open terrain to put the Teryx to the test. How did it fare? Let’s take a look.
Rhino Hunting Kawasaki didn’t hide whose marketshare it was after with its Teryx — heck the T-Rex’s styling is a dead giveaway on what machine Kawasaki is after. “How does it stack up?” Kawasaki’s ATV Product Manager Vince Iorio said. “We think it beats Yamaha, Polaris, Arctic Cat and Honda.” But, during the technical presentation, the Rhino was most-often compared to the Teryx features.
The T-Rex is powered by a potent V-twin 749cc liquid-cooled four-stroke that is also found in the Brute Force ATV — mid-engine placement between the two passengers. The Teryx employs traditional carburetion controlled by two Keihin 34mm carbs. Does this massive V-twin add up to the most power in the recreational segment? Technically, no. This Kawi’s high-speed sprint is electronically governed at 48 mph by the ECU.
Kinney Jones/
ATV Sport
Since we are most-interested in the sporty characteristics of RUVs, let’s take a look at the chassis and suspension specs. The T-Rex has a wheelbase of 76 inches, equal to the Ranger XP and longer than the Prowler and Rhino. Overall width is listed at 58.7 inches,
or 4.3 inches fatter than the Rhino.
The suspension is highlighted by gas-charged, preload adjustable front shocks and fully adjustable gas-charged rear shocks with piggyback reservoirs — 7.5 inches of travel all around. Once we exited the dunes and sand grooves our T-Rex was chasing, we got a better feel for power, handling and stability. This Kawasaki feels more planted than other RUVs we’ve tested. The wide front A-arm width — achieved by keeping the front chassis as narrow as possible for longer A-arms and more travel — along with quality absorbers and a nice center of gravity add a dose of confidence through high-speed corners.
When our test hit the long straights filled with whoops, we gained a new appreciation for the suspension. We couldn’t skip the top of the whoops, but we hammered through them and found a nice rhythm.
The V-twin engine produced little to no vibration through the entire powerband. At idle, one could hardly feel the machine was running. The engine runs quiet, smooth and packs plenty of power.
There’s a noticeable punch on the bottom end, but our seat-of-the-pants observation reveals it doesn’t get moving as fast as the Polaris RZR. This likely derives from a dry weight north of 1,275 pounds of the Teryx — more than 325 pounds heavier than the RZR.
But even with all the machine and rider weight, we caught some air in the T-Rex in the dunes. We launched the machine off a few steep razorbacks and the suspension soaked up the landings well. We bottomed the front suspension travel a few times during testing.
We were comfortable in the Teryx, and the gas and brake pedals are at the proper attack angle. We would like to see a tilt steering wheel, however.
Speaking of steering, it produced no twitchiness and wasn’t too light or too heavy. Kawasaki did its homework here, and what results is superior handling.
Kinney Jones/
ATV Sport
When Can You Get One? Kawasaki expects inventories to start filling in by March. At $9,699, the Teryx 750 4x4 comes in a tad less expensive than the competition.
What you give up in features like digital instrumentation, cup holders and a tilting cargo hold — LE and NRA models include these items — one gains with quality suspension and solid power and handling compared to most of the competition.
While it isn’t as sporty as the Ranger RZR, the T-Rex will likely take a chunk out of Rhino, Prowler and Ranger XP sales for customers seeking recreation with some utility function.
